Emmy Emmanuel Nsubuga is a music promoter, who also doubles as the proprietor of Bwengula Promotions and Marketing Agency. He is also the marketing manager of Bomba Muzic Production and a public relations manager for Brizy Graphics Uganda. Gabriel Buule had a chat with him.
Tell us about the job you do and your music promotion career?
I am a talent manager and marketing expert who has been in the music business for three years.
But I started commercialising my services a year ago. I promote, distribute and market music. I bridge the gap between artistes and the consumers.
Why music of all professions?
While in high school, I tried Afro- Hip-hop and I won several rap battles. But I later came to terms with the fact that I was not cut out to be an artiste.
But I still loved music and that is how I settled for music promotion and event management.
Is music promotion a lucrative venture?
Those who do it as a profession or like their lives depend on it have benefited it. However one needs to invest heavily in music promotion in order to earn from it. The challenge I see in Uganda is that most artistes choose to prioritise production and hardly pay attention to promotion. Many artistes invest huge sums in production of audio and video and fail at promotion. It is important to have a quality product but you need a professional and committed team to get that product to the market in order to make money out of it.
What other challenges are particular in the music industry today?
There is more to music than just a talent. Artistes need money for brand maintenance. Many artistes wait to earn from stage performances, which does not make any business sense in the long run.
Secondly, the industry has many unprofessional artistes. Some artistes do not respect their brands and their clients. Music being a social business, every artiste needs a professional team to manage the brand and secure corporate gigs.
Most artistes do not go far in academics. Many of them are school drop outs. Why?
In Uganda, once an artiste releases a hit song, he or she will put everything on the shelf and concentrate on music. One hit is enough to turn one’s life around. So most of them do not see the value of keeping in school when they are already earning money and fame.
But also, most of the successful icons in the music industry are elites, for example Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, Iryn Namubiru, Silver Kyagulanyi, Dr Jose Chameleon and many more. All said and done, it is possible to excel in academics and music at the same time.
How long do you spend on your music promotion projects?
Three months. But if the song is good enough, one month is enough to create an impact.
Which artiste would you wish to work with?
Diamond Platnumz. He is very hardworking and professional. Spice Diana is doing well in terms of brand management.
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